I just found this site and haven't read through much yet, but I wanted to start this post to see if I can get some help in deciding where to live in Belize.

My husband and I are wanting to retire early and move there, but we're not sure where to go. We love the "resort" types of property, but feel that they are WAY over-priced for what you get. On the other hand, we have no idea where to buy a lot and build a house.

Glamour, this topic has been discussed here many times therefore you may not get a large response. Pull up some of the previous discussions on this topic for more input.

Belize is a small country, you can visit most of it in less than a week. My wife and I also decided we wanted to one day live in Belize and had the same starting point as you. I researched Belize extensively on the net, shopped properties, picked out several properties to visit scattered all over the coast both mainland and islands (we were only interested in beach front) then just hopped a plane and visited them. We were able to visit all the properties that interested me in 3 days. We charted a small plane so we could fly over these properties as well.

We easily chose Ambergrisgris Caye for our future home but you may like any of the other choices. This is such a personal decision I don't think anyone could advise anyone else as to the "best" place in Belize. Some people want to live on the mainland in the jungle or mountains while others want the beach. Some people want the slower pace of Caye Caulker while others want more entertainment/bar/dinning options on AC.

Do your research, plan a week of travel just to see properties not to "vacation" (you really can't do both in a week or less). It doesn't take long or a lot of money to visit these properties and you quickly get a feel for what is right for you.

One note of caution about this board. Some of the posters here may be discouraging, telling you that you can't do this or you won't be happy because "it's not like the US" or where ever. They may give examples of all the others that have "come and gone" before you. Don't let the nay sayers sway you from your dream!

Even if your dream turns out not to be so great or maybe your dream just changes, you still can't go wrong by investing in Belize property (my personal opinion).